Budapest - restaurant scams

How prevalent are restaurant scams in Budapest?
(e.g., forcing customers to pay excessive unadvertised prices; menu
does not list prices; placing items on the check that were not ordered
or not served; check is unclear but restaurant demands customer pay
the total; restaurant staff pretends to not understand English in a
dispute.)

I dont know what you have been reading, but I live here. Maybe someone did something in the last few years that I didnt catch, but even that I doubt.

How are restaurant scams best avoided?

Read your bill before you pay it? I guess? Cause you are trying to avoid something that statistically doesnt happen outside of nudy bars.

When a restaurant scam becomes apparent, what is the best response?

Well I imagine that mistakes are made. And if you respond to a mistake by calling them a crook, then that would probably be the wrong response. Again, you are asking about things that dont happen here anymore than Houston, or Vienna or Los Angles, or Berlin or Chicago or London.

Are the following establishments reputable? Csengery, BITE Bakery,
Muvesz Coffee House, Twentysix, Mosselin Belgian Beer Cafe, Urban
Betyar, LEVES, Duran Szendvics, Cafe Gerbeaud, Central Cafe, Walzer
Cafe, Ruzzwurm Cukraszda Cafe, Coyote Coffee and Deli, Budavari
Retesvar, Kedves Krem, Hadik Kavehaz, 21 Magyar Vendeglo, Elso Pesti
Reteshaz, Hungarikum Bisztro, Cafe Csiga, New York Cafe, Fakanal
Etterem, Getto Gulyas, Retro Langos, and La Nube,

There is two or three in there I dont know. The rest look like they came off a tour book restaurant guide (and an old one at that). My only comment is you can do better. But no, they arent crooks. I do suggest that you get past this before you arrive in Europe or you are not goin to have a good time.

The travel party will be six (5 adults and 1 teenager).

Please relax and enjoy.

Wow -- where have you been traveling or reading? In our 50+ years of European travel we have never encounter anything approaching your question. On a couple of occasions we have encountered bad math but it was easily corrected. BUT nothing compared to what you are suggesting.

We had a most delightful trip in April 2024 with no restaurant scams.

The only thing that came close was our dinner at Rumour by Rácz Jenő - would not recommend! We have only eaten at 4 Michelin starred restaurants over the years and this has been our sole disappointment. Nothing was as advertised: table, service, pricing discrepancy - all subpar (food was good though). EVERY other restaurant, we had NO issues and we do not speak the language.

In fact, we plan to return to Budapest with my mother in the next 2 years or so.

I don’t live there but have lost count of my visits (maybe I am around a couple of months over 6 or 7 trips in the last 3 years?). I have eaten at probably half of this list, some of which are well-known icons.

The closest I have come to anything remotely similar was a mistake when the waiter accidentally put our dessert (ordered later) on the next-door table’s bill. She and my friend and I caught the mistake and it was immediately taken off her bill and added to ours. While it’s certainly not impossible for scams to happen in maybe not so respectable settings, it’s highly unlikely anywhere even close to regular life. Regular Hungarian life, as well as regular tourist settings.

I am afraid you are reading old material - or talking to people who were there a long time go. You would be well-served to read some of the Hungary forum threads here to get a better feel for the current situation. And, of course, do as you did here and ask. :)

Hi, syrmatthew. Welcome to the forum. I wonder a bit if you (1) have been reading about Italian restaurants sometimes putting creative and unexpected charges on checks or (2) have been watching videos from HONEST GUIDE on YouTube that deal with scams -- including tourist restaurant scams -- in Prague. In the case of the former, I have never experienced that, though I have learned to ask the price of the nightly specials before ordering them at my favorite hometown local Italian place owned by a chef from Italy. In the case of the latter, the guide's point is not so much to be on constant guard about being swindled as it is too avoid touristy places because many offer tourist-grade food and can take advantage of tourists with extra charges.

No one on this forum knows Budapest better than Mr E... so you can trust his advice. Hope you have a great trip!

Okay, not a scam, but something you do need to be aware of in Hungary and in a lot of Europe and that is the SERVICE FEE. Here, and I would imagine most of Europe if there is a Service Fee, it must be clearly identified on the menu. It will be between 10% and 20% (generally closer to 10%). This is more common in tourist restaurants like the ones on your list, but it can occur at any restaurant.

There are a couple of reasons for the service fee, and one of the reasons actually save you money in the long run (it changes the VAT tax cost on the bill which allows for cheaper prices).

In exchange for the service fee tipping is becoming less common here. Still if the waiter was special, even with a service fee, 5% is not uncommon and goes a long way; especially if you do it in CASH. Nothing dishonest about the cash, as cash tips are not taxable by law. Put the tip on your credit card it will be taxed .. thats life, better that than nothing. No service fee? Then 10% tip is more common. While this is the norm, it makes no sense as the Service Fee is not a tip. It goes to wages.

Those times I was in Budapest, ie day trips in 2010, 2014 and 2015, I had lunch there but never had any Hungarian currency, only $ and Euro. I met up with a good friend of mine each time for lunch, he had the Hungarian currency. Guests at this restaurant were both locals and some tourists, the menu was multi-lingual, 4 languages total as I recall.

Paying time: Roughly we calculated, ie he calculated what my share amounted to in Euro based on the rate of exchange between the Florint and Euro. I was not that interested in the exactness of the exchange rate. Converting from Florint he told me what I owed in Euro. I gave him Euro cash. He then paid the waiter the total bill in Florint cash.

If in a dispute, the waiter pretends or feigns not understanding English, too bad, one is out of luck.

Never happened to me in BP, only once in Europe, ie Strasbourg at "Flunch" when I was with a French-speaking friend quite comfortable with the language, and went back and forth with the waiter, got nowhere. So, my decided to press the issue, called for the manger to continue her arguments in French. It worked.

Fred, your photo is in restaurants all over town. Not sure why, I don't speak Hungarian.